The September 3-4, 2019 storm complex and Flood Events
The September 3-d, 2019 Storm complex and flood event was a catastrophic lightning, wind, severe weather, and flooding event that affected portions of Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin and Ontario. Lightning caused by the storm as it was moving over Detroit started a fire that would soon morph into the catostrophic September 4, 2019 Detroit Fire that would destroy much of the city of Detroit and sorounding areas and would cause mass evacuations and smoke advisories throughout the Metro. Along wit the severe wind, 20 tornadoes touched down in the states of Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio, plus 2 more in Canada. The strongest being an EF4 that struck the communities of Pioneer, OH, and Morenci, MI that injured 40 people. An EF1 tornado that struck Turtle Lake, MI killed a man that was not yet in his shelter. In the end , 8 people tragically died as result of the storm, and many more as a result of the fire caused in Detroit. Meteorological Synopsis The storm In the early morning hours of September 3rd, the Storm Prediction center issued a Moderate risk of Severe Weather for Small portions of the eastern coast of Wisocnsin along Lake Michigan including the cities of Milwaukee and Sheboygan, most of southern Michigan including the Cities of Detroit, Ann Arbor, Lansing, and Kalamazoo, and portions of Northwest Ohio including the city of Toledo. The risk was driven by a 45% Chance of strong winds with a Sig severe risk, along with a 10% chance of tornadoes with a significant severe tag, falling below moderate limits, and a 5% chance of damaging hail. The outlook would stay the same for the rest of the day until the 4:00 O'clock outlook, where the SPC withdrew there Moderate risk from The shores of Wisconsin, and upgraded the severe risk to a high risk for southern Michigan and Northwest Ohio. The high risk was issued do to the Strong winds risk increasing to a 60% chance with sig severe probs. The Canadian Storm prediction center at this time would also issue a substantial risk of strong winds and a moderate risk of strong tornadoes for portions of southwestern Ontario, including the cities of Windsor, Chatham-Kent, and Sarnia. At 5:30, the SPC would issue a Severe Thunderstorm watch for a few counties in Wisconsin, those counties being Sheboygan, Ozaukee, Washington, Waukesha, Milwaukee, Racine, Kenosha, and Walworth, making it one of the smallest severe T-storm watches ever issued by the SPC. At 5:45, the SPC issued a PDS Severe Thunderstorm watch for Southern Michigan, Steuben county in Indiana, and Williams, Fulton, Lucas, Ottawa, Wood, Sandusky, Seneca, and Erie counties in Ohio. By 6:00, stormss were beggining to form just west of the Watch issued in Wisconsin. These storms began to go Severe warned very soon after. Soon after, reports of 75 MPH wind gusts would be reported in areas just west of the community of North Praire. Soon, reports of mass mounts of trees down would begin to come in. The storms would move there way, albeit slowly towards Waukesha and the Milwaukee metro area. But soon, the Entire Milwaukee metro area would be put under a Severe Thunderstorm warning, with a "Dangerous situation" tag on it do to the mass reports of damage from near North Praire. The storms would suddenly stall over portions of Waukesha, Western Milwaukee, and sorounding suburbs. Soon after that a flood warning would be issued for portions of Milwaukee, Waukesha, Washington, and Ozaukee counties, noting the heavy torrentai lrain fall in the area. Do to the storm stalling, the winds in it would begin to slightly weaken, although the NWS would continue its severe T-storm warning for the affected areas. The storm would stay stalled until about 6:45, resulting in over an inch, and in some localized cases over 2 inches or rain falling in and around Waukesha. soon, with all the rain, river, creeks, streams and roads would begin to be over loaded with water. The Fox River by the end of the day would be over its banks and still rising do to storms that began to form back behind the main line. At 6:45 the line would begin to gain more speed. Once the storm reached Milwaukee, the winds were once again well above severe limits. In downtown Milwaukee, a peak wind gust was reported at 88 MPH. Roof damage would be reported at Marquette University, and debris fall building throughout Downtown Milwaukee would send people running away from windows in many of the high rises and sky scrapers, as many windows would be smashed do to the flying debris.The US Bank Branch of Milwaukee alone suffered $500,000 Worth of damage to the windows. Soon after, rain storms and some isolated T-storms would begin to form behind the main line, adding to the already dire flood threat in Milwaukee and Waukesha counties. By 7:10 a majority of the main line has passed Milwaukee and the sorounding counties, resulting in the NWS to cancel the watch. Although, the cells behind it would still cause some severe weather, with isolated reports of 65MPH+ winds at times being reported, triggering severe T-storm warnings in already affected areas. One of this storms was even able to tap into th small amounts of rotation that existed in Wisoncisn, resulting in teh first tornado warning of the day being issued for a small storm that would affect for the city of Concordia and the nearby campus of The Concordia University Wisocnsin. Although a tornado would occur with this storm, a funnel would be reported not far from the city of Concordia. At 7:15, a flash flood Emergency would be issued for all of Waukesha County, as storms continued to train over the county and Waukesha Proper. Several water rescues would even have to be performed. The storms would continue accross Lake Michigan, slowing down over the lake while still managing to cause strong winds over the lake. One Bouy 25 miles off the coast from Milwaukee recorded a wind gust of 86 MPH. It would take until 11:00 PM for the storms to make landfall in Michigan. Muskegon would be one of the first cities to be struck by the strong winds. One bouy right off the coast of the city would record a wind gust of 79 MPH. Several houses would suffer siding and roof damage, and multiple trees would be knocked down. In fact, the first death contributed to the complex would occur in Muskegon when a tree would fall on top of a house, breaking through the roof of a small Nursing home facility, sadly killing a 100 year old man. NWS workers esitmated some of the damage that occured in Muskegon to be the result of 80-90 MPH winds. The storms would continue its path onto the shores of Michigan, inflicting other areas of notable damage in Norton Shores, Grand Haven, and Holland. The system would begin to change course from a west to east motion, and into a more northwest to southeast motion as expected and predicted by models. By now, it was past the midnight hour. Around this time a PDS severe Thunderstorm warning would be issued for Grand Rapids, MI as strong storms with a history of producing damaging winds in and around the Muskegon area. This same area of storms would result in the first tornado of the event. At 12:10 AM the National Weather Service Office in Grand Rapids issued a tornado warning for areas just north of the city